Too Much Kick
by LaylaBinx
Summary: "Darling, I'm not a doctor but I'm nearly certain you have a concussion." Concussion!Arthur! Awesome/Worried!Eames! No slash, just fluff :P Happy birthday AtlantisGirl12!
1. The Dangers of Table Corners

**Hello all! Okay, so this is a special birthday story for _AtlantisGirl12_! She wanted hurt!Arthur in reality and I couldn't resist :p I've had this idea in my head since the second time I saw the movie but the request really got me around to writing it ^.- Hope you guys like it! :D**

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"-thur...?"

"Arthur...?"

"Arthur!"

The words were echoing in his head, far away and faded, and Arthur struggled to grasp them, understand what they were saying. It was hard though...hard to concentrate on much of anything besides the unbearable throbbing in his head.

"Arthur, love? Can you hear me?"

Something was touching him; some**one **actually. There was a hand on the side of his face (at least he thought it was probably a hand) and he was leaning against something solid and warm. It would have been comfortable if it didn't feel like his head was trying to split open. Slowly, he opened his eyes, wondering why it was such a chore, and blinked up at the worried face of Eames hovering over him.

"Arthur?" The Forger said, his accent a bit thicker in his concern. "Can you hear me?"

Arthur thought about that for a second; it was a stupid question with a needless answer and he wondered why Eames would be asking such a thing. And he was still wondering why his head hurt so bad. It was only then that he realized he was leaning against Eames' chest, his upper body carefully cradled in the older man's arms. This day just got better and better...

"Of course I-" He tried to sit up but a sudden, unbelievable wave of veritgo ricochetted through his throbbing skull and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, sinking back against the Forger again.

"Easy, love...no sudden moves for a while..." Eames was speaking above him but his words sounded like they were echoing again like they were trapped in a subway tunnel.

"How is he?" Another voice asked suddenly and Arthur opened his eyes long enough to see Saito appear over Eames shoulder, looking down at him in concern.

"He's conscious...that's about all that can be said." Eames muttered, glancing back down at Arthur. Saito nodded briefly and passed something to Eames that Arthur couldn't see. The "something", cold and wet, was suddenly pressed to the side of his head, the Forger's hand holding it in place. Natural instinct told him to recoil from the cold but the movement made him dizzy all over again and he gave up, a frustrated noise grumbling in the back of his throat as he resigned himself to lean against Eames once more.

"Easy Arthur...try not to move..." The Forger said softly, keeping firm pressure against the younger man's head with one hand and rubbing his arm with the other.

Arthur blinked a few times, the cold thing covering one of his eyes almost completely. He'd come to the conclusion it was probably a wash cloth though why it was pressed against his head he still hadn't figured out. He tried to remember how they had gotten to this point; as Cobb told him when they first started working together: "try to remember how you got here in the first place." He thought back as far as he could, his mind drawing a blank, and if he could have moved at all without feeling like he was falling off a building, he would have made a grab for his totem.

"Relax love, this isn't a dream." Eames said above him, obviously catching on to what the younger man was trying to piece together.

"What happened?" Arthur asked finally, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. He looked up again, catching a brief glimpse of Yusuf in the background talking to Saito. Through the haze he remembered that Ariadne and Cobb were downtown, gathering information on their next target. The rest of them had met up here, started going over the plans for the next mission, and-

"-and when Yusuf initiated the kick, the chair slid out from under you and your head hit the table." Eames finished above him and Arthur was abruptly pulled back to reality.

"What?"

Eames frowned in concern before repeating. "We were testing the new drug, remember? Yusuf said it was supposed to increase the clarity of dreams so you volunteered to try it first. When it came time for the kick, Yusuf was just going to nudge your chair enough to wake you up but the chair tipped over completely and you hit the table." Eames nodded over his shoulder to the overturned chair a few feet away, dangerously close to a desk holding the PASIV device and a stack of papers. The papers had ended up all over the floor in the fall, some speckled with smears and flecks of something crimson.

"Arthur, I'm so sorry." Yusuf appeared suddenly, crouching down next to the Point Man. "Had I known the chair was going to move I wouldn't have-"

Arthur waved his hand dismissively (though it didn't get much higher than a few inches off the floor). "It was my own fault." He mumbled, the words feeling heavy and foreign in his mouth. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open as well which couldn't be good. "I shouldn't have been sitting so close."

"I think we should take him to the hospital." Yusuf said quietly, the words directed at Eames. The two were talking quietly and Arthur shook his head in refusal, immediately regretting the action.

"No hospitals." He muttered, squeezing his eyes closed as another wave of vertigo swept through him. He felt like he was stuck on a raft in the middle of the ocean being tossed around by the waves. It was not a pleasant feeling. "I'll be fine."

"Darling, I'm not a doctor but I'm nearly certain you have a concussion." Eames said matter-of-factly, looking down at the younger man in concern. "And the amount of blood on this towel isn't a very encouraging sight either."

Ah, that explained the rag. Still, Arthur was adament about not going to the hospital and tested shaking his head again. The results were about the same as the previous attempt.

"Arthur-" Eames tried but Saito stepped in instead.

"I have a good friend who happens to be a physician. Perhaps I can call him and have him come here instead?" He looked between Eames and Arthur, shrugging a bit. "Its a good compromise."

There was a brief silence before Eames nodded. "Alright, call him and give him the address." Saito nodded in return and stepped away before Arthur had a chance to protest.

The Point Man let out a frustrated sigh and tried to push himself up but was held back by Eames. "Eames, this is really unnecessary." He sighed in exasperation but the Forger was unmoved.

"Arthur, you were unconscious for nearly two minutes and you can't even sit up by yourself without assistance. I believe calling a physician to come have a look at you is entirely necessary." He shifted his grip on the younger man slightly, looping his arm around Arthur's waist as if he were preparing to lift him up. "Besides, Cobb would be pissed if his favorite Point Man's brains turned into scrambled egg, don't you think? And don't even get me started on the lecture we're going to get from Ariadne." He lifted suddenly, keeping Arthur close, and standing until they were both upright. Arthur's hand instinctively gripped Eames' arm as they rose, holding on for dear life as the world shifted into a more vertical position. His head was reeling, the room spinning sickeningly and the floor shuddering beneath his feet (at least that's what it felt like). Dizziness came in relentless waves and his stomach lurched suddenly and for a split second he felt like he couldn't breathe. Hot bile burned the back of his throat and he gagged reflexively. He vaguely heard Eames curse beside him just before Yusuf kicked a trashcan toward the pair, skidding to a stop next to the Forger's feet. It had no sooner come to a stop before Arthur lost what little he had in his stomach, coughing and gagging violently into the empty trash bin.

Eames kept one arm around his waist, holding him up to keep him from falling on the floor completely, his other hand rubbing the younger man's back soothingly. "Easy love...you're alright..." He muttered, keeping his voice soft and comforting. Yusuf appeared beside him with a glass of water and they both waited until the spell was over before trying to offer it to Point Man.

Arthur was trembling all over by this point, his hair hanging over his eyes and his skin a sickening pallor from the exertion. He could hear Eames talking to him, Yusuf's voice in the background, but it was hard to make sense of any of it. There was a ringing in his ears now, dull at first and growing louder with every second that passed. His knees locked suddenly and he started to fall to the ground but Eames was a bit faster, moving just in time to catch him before he crumpled completely.

He found himself clinging to the Forger again, gripping his arms in an attempt to ground himself to something physical. Everything was swirling and spinning around him and it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. Eames was holding him still, not moving, letting Arthur grip him like a child who had just woken up from a nightmare. It was embarassing and degrading but Arthur could really see no other option at this point, not when he couldn't take two steps without throwing up. Maybe a physician wasn't so unnecessary after all.

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**Poor Arthur :( This will be in two parts so the next chapter will be up soon! ^.-**


	2. 20 questions

**Wow, Oh my God, I'm so sorry this took so long to update! O.o Damn school and all you're needs! *angry fist shake at the sky* Okay, well here's the last chapter, hope you guys like it! :D**

**Also, a quick note on my other Inception story "Sweet Dreams"; I'm putting it on temporary hiatus until the film comes out on DVD. I feel like I'm losing the character's personalities and I want the story to turn out well so I'm waiting a bit O.o I had the same problem with this one... Hope it's okay!**

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It took a few minutes before Arthur was able to stand upright again. Eames had looped one of Arthur's arms over his shoulders and had allowed his other arm to snake around the Point Man's waist, holding on to him tightly as the slowly shuffled their way over to one of the couches. Yusuf stayed close behind them in case Arthur decided to tumble backwards and Eames didn't have time to catch him.

"Alright, darling…easy…" Eames muttered, carefully lowering Arthur onto the couch. Had it not been for the Forger's hand still holding one of his arms, Arthur was pretty sure he would have slumped over on the cushions, unable to stop the fall. Instead, Eames ended up on the couch next to him, eyeing him carefully, his fingers brushing over a particularly sore spot close to his temple. Arthur winced in spite of himself and tried to move away but didn't get much further than an inch. "Easy…" Eames whispered again, rediscovering the rag on the floor and bringing it up to press against the younger man's head again.

Arthur closed his eyes against the continuous waves of dizziness and found himself leaning against the Forger's shoulder, wishing with everything he had that the room would stop spinning and that his head would stop feeling like it was trying to crack wide open. He wasn't sure how much time had passed before a low chime, like a doorbell, echoed throughout the warehouse. Saito excused himself and walked away, disappearing into one of the other rooms. There was some muffled words, far away and incoherent in his pain-addled brain. The voices got closer and Arthur managed to open his eyes just as Saito reappeared in the room followed by a woman wearing a white lab coat. Saito nodded to the couch and stepped away to stand next to Yusuf

The woman walked straight over to the couch, a small black bag clutched in one hand and her car keys in the other. She smiled as she approached, a warm, motherly smile that somehow made Arthur's headache lessen just a bit. She had dark brown hair with strands of silver weaving into it and green eyes hidden behind a pair of black rimmed glasses. "Arthur?" She asked, coming to a stop next to the couch and kneeling down so she was eye level with him. "My name is Dr. Reese, can you hear me alright?"

Arthur started to nod but thought better of it at the last second. "Yes." He said, his voice sounded hollow in his ears.

"Good." The woman smiled again and opened her bag, taking out a small pen light. "Can you tell me what today is?" She asked, shining the light briefly into both of his eyes, watching the reaction carefully.

"October 4th."

"Good. How about the year?" The light was put away and she took his wrist gently, looking down at her watch as she counted his pulse.

"2010."

"Very good. Can your turn your head from side to side for me?"

Arthur did as he was told, wincing as the change in direction gave him a sudden case of vertigo. "It makes me dizzy." He said honestly, his gaze landing back on the woman in front of him.

"That's not uncommon." She assured him with a smile. "Is there any pain in your neck or back when you move your head?"

"No, ma'am."

"Good." She reached up, gloved hands taking away the washcloth that was still pressed to his head, and probed the wound carefully. Arthur knew she was trying to be as gentle as she could but right now even gentle hurt. "Looks like you took quite a spill." She said after a second, her fingertips brushing over the bruised and bloody skin lightly. "I doubt you'll need stitches though. Head wounds are notorious bleeders but this one isn't too deep." She rummaged into the bag again, retrieving an assortment of bandages, some gauze, and a bottle of antiseptic. "This may sting a bit…" She warned, pouring some of the antiseptic on the gauze and pressing it to the wound.

Arthur grit his teeth, his jaw clenching tightly, but sat as still as he could while she worked. Even though he couldn't see him, he knew Eames was watching the doctor like a hawk. The Forger played the cool indifference card most of the time but they all knew he was fiercely protective of his team mates even though he probably wouldn't admit it. As the doctor cleaned and bandaged the wound on Arthur's head, Eames stayed close and kept a watchful eye on her, a silent warning that he wasn't afraid to interfere if she hurt Arthur.

"Alright, I think that should do it." She said finally, sitting back on her heels and looking at the stark, white bandages now taped to one side of the young man's forehead. "Now, you're going to be pretty sore for a few days but it shouldn't be anything too severe." She smiled at him and then turned to Eames. "Will you be staying with him?"

"We all will." Yusuf spoke up before the Forger could, taking a small step forward. He still felt horrible about the accident and was willing to do what ever he could to help.

Dr. Reese smiled and nodded to him and divided her attention between he and Eames. "Okay, he is allowed to sleep but I need one of you to wake him up every two hours or so to make sure the injury isn't affecting his memory. Ask simple questions like his name and the date, easy things he should be able to remember. A little bit of confusion is alright but if he starts to forget things like that or if his speech starts slurring or you can't wake him up, take him to the emergency room immediately, understand?" When both men nodded, she continued with approval. "Good. You can give him Tylenol if he complains about a headache but that's it, nothing with aspirin in it. Let him get plenty of rest and he should be fine." She stood slowly, dropping a few things into her bag before casting one last look at Arthur. "Call me if you need anything."

Saito took a step forward to walk her out and Eames moved off the couch, gently pushing Arthur to one side so he was half-laying, half-slumped over on the cushions. He slid his jacket off and wadded it messily, dropping it onto one side of the couch so it could act a makeshift pillow. If Arthur had any qualms about that, he didn't say anything. Honestly, all the Point Man could think about was how much he wanted to go to sleep in an attempt to ward off this mind-numbing headache.

"Get some rest, love." Eames said, staying close by the couch as Saito walked back in a few minutes later. "We'll check on you in a bit."

Arthur didn't need much more encouragement than that and resigned himself to nodding slightly before his eyes closed of their own accord and he was lost to the world.

**OOOOO**

It felt like only minutes later that a hand was suddenly on his shoulder, shaking him slightly. "Arthur?" The voice sounded like it was high above him but he knew it was probably much closer than that. Arthur blinked slowly, looking up the owner of the hand. Saito was standing above him, smiling softly. "How are you feeling?"

It took a second to comprehend what had just been asked of him and he had to struggle to come up with words. "Uh…sore…" He answered finally, thinking that was probably the best approach.

Saito nodded slightly and sat down on the edge of the couch. "Do you know what today is?"

Another second or so of struggle. "October 4th, right?"

The older man nodded in approval. "Who is the President of the United States?"

"Obama."

"Good. What year is it?"

"2010."

"Very good. What is your full name?"

Arthur frowned, bringing one hand up to swipe a stray piece of hair away from his forehead. No one had asked him for his full name in a long time. "Arthur William Davis."

Saito seemed slightly surprised by the revelation and it occurred to Arthur that that question was probably more along the lines of Saito's curiosity than anything else. He smiled lightly at the Point Man and nodded. "Alright, you can go back to sleep." He patted him lightly on the shoulder and stood up, leaving Arthur to slip back into the comforting arms of sleep once more.

**OOOOO**

The next time he was awakened, Yusuf was crouched next to him. He asked the same sort of questions Saito had asked previously, nodding after each correct response. Satisfied that Arthur's brain hadn't been too scrambled in the fall, he moved on to more direct questions, once again, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"Have you ever had a criminal record? Before you met Cobb that is."

The Point Man frowned but smiled just a bit at the question. It seemed like something Yusuf would ask. "Uh yeah…I got sent to juvie when I was 14 for defacing a building. More than once."

The Chemist chuckled at the response. "More than once?"

"Yeah, I liked that wall and usually went back to it when I wanted to paint something." There was a slight shrug. "I wasn't the best student in high school."

Yusuf smirked and let the rest of the story drop; he'd ask later when Arthur was feeling better. "What age did you lose your virginity?"

Arthur seemed a bit taken aback but smiled lightly and shook his head gingerly. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with anything."

"Uh…22. Her name was Stephanie…It was right after I started working with Dom."

"Fair enough." Yusuf smirked and patted him on the shoulder lightly, pushing him back down toward the couch. A few minutes later, Arthur was asleep again.

**OOOOO**

Eames was the last to wake him up and he should have expected nothing but constant irritation from the minute he opened his eyes to the time the Forger left.

"Arthur." The smooth, British voice reverberated in his ears, coming across much louder than it actually was. He blinked, slowly coming back to reality, and looked up at the Forger. Eames smiled warmly down at him. "Ello love."

Arthur made some kind of muted comment in the back of his throat and frowned. "Please no stupid questions Eames…" He mumbled, the headache still throbbing behind his eyes.

The older man smiled again and shook his head. "Easy pet, I'm just making sure you're still breathing." He said, one hand resting against Arthur's chest and the other bracing himself on the couch. "I'm nearly certain that if you were going to have any lasting brain damage we would have known by now."

Arthur said nothing but winced as his skull pulsed and throbbed bitterly behind his eyes. He felt better than he had before, less dizzy at least, but the pain hadn't abated in the slightest. Eames must have noticed the wince because he disappeared from the side of the bed for a second and returned with two tiny white tablets and a bottle of water. He handed them to the Point Man, waiting patiently as Arthur downed them and handed the bottle back. A second or two passed before Arthur frowned, shaking his head just slightly and looking up at him. "What are you being so nice?" He asked, genuinely confused by the Forger's actions.

Eames simply smiled and set the bottle of water on the floor. "Honestly Arthur, while I do live for rubbing you all the wrong ways, I'm not going to do it when you're in this shape. You're in pain and you're tired, I won't take advantage of that to suit my own needs." He reached forward, calloused palm resting against the younger man's cheek lightly. "Besides, if I'm going to pick at you, I'd prefer you to be in top form in order to dazzle me with one of your charming retorts."

Arthur was at a loss for words, simply staring at the other man for a few seconds as his rattled brain tried to wrap itself around what he'd said. "Eames, I-"

"No need to apologize, love. I'm simply explaining my reasoning."

The younger man let a very small smile quirk the corner of his mouth. "And to think I was going to get the worst set of questions from you. Yusuf was more direct than this…"

"Were you expecting questions, darling? I could come up with a few if it would make you happy."

"No, Eames, I just-"

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"Okay, I get it-"

"If a fly had no wings would it be called a walk?"

"Eames, seriously-"

"How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if-"

"Eames!"

The Forger stopped and smiled, sitting back a bit more against the couch. "Try to get some more rest, Cobb and Ariadne should be back later this evening."

Arthur vaguely wondered when it had shifted into the nest day but something warm and soft was laid over him and his thought process derailed. It was Eames jacket, worn and familiar, and it smelled like a mix of cigarette smoke and peppermints. For some reason it was the most comforting scent in the world right then. Arthur settled back on the couch and closed his eyes, deciding he could ponder the absence of time and a polite Eames at a later hour.

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**Hope you all liked it! :D**


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